HUNTING OFFENCES
Fildebrandt faces charges
Beleaguered MLA Derek Fildebrandt is facing two charges under Alberta’s wildlife and trespass acts.
According to court records, Fildebrandt was charged with unlawfully possessing a white-tailed deer and entering land without permission this fall.
His first court appearance is set for Feb. 2 at Didsbury provincial court.
Fish and wildlife officers received a call around 3:30 p.m. Nov. 4, telling them a deer had been shot on private land without permission from the landowners, a justice department official said.
An officer then went to an alfalfa field near Sundre, 255 km southwest of Edmonton. Fildebrandt was charged, and the deer and a rifle were seized.
When contacted about the charges, Fildebrandt said he was hunting in an area he didn’t know and thought he was on Crown lease land.
Fildebrandt said he found out the land was private after he shot and tagged the deer, and apologized to the landowner. Afterwards, he said, he donated the deer to the local food bank. The justice official said the seized deer was donated by the wildlife officer.
“I took full responsibility in my conversation with the owner and fish and wildlife officer, and am deeply sorry for the accident,” Fildebrandt said.
LATEST CHARGES ANOTHER BLOW
The latest charges come as Fildebrandt prepares to hear the decision next week of his trial on hit-run charges in Edmonton.
In that case, a former neighbour accused him of a hit-and-run involving her van in June 2016. He was charged by police for leaving the scene of an accident and failing to notify the owner of a damaged vehicle.
In court in September, the Strathmore-Brooks MLA denied having anything to do with the collision, saying he was likely in an early morning meeting at the Federal Building.
These latest charges add to a string of controversies for Fildebrandt, a former Alberta director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation.
He left the United Conservative Party caucus in August to sit as an independent after it was revealed he had rented out his taxpayerfunded apartment on Airbnb and double-dipped on meal expenses.